Time to wake up
by RomanceGuru
Summary: RiverJayne oneshot. Takes place immediately after the BDM. R&R If River was very quiet...


Title: Time to wake up  
Author: romanceguru

Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I am but a lowly subservient.  
Rating: PG  
Prompt: First Line for Cobb and Tam community Takes place immediately after the BDM.

Muchas gracias to my beta elsibet34

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If River was very quiet and pressed her ear tightly to the metal wall of her room, she could hear Serenity's engine humming happily and if she concentrated hard enough she could hear more than just the ship.

The cool steel under her cheek contrasted sharply with the warm, bright waves filling her with a sense of wonderment. Jayne was dreaming again and he was nearby.

She wandered out of her room and found him in the corner of the common area, his feet kicked up on the table, sleeping peacefully on one of the side chairs.

He appeared almost gentle as he slept, a little boy shining through the mask of pain and death. She moved behind him and leaned down to whisper to the child buried somewhere in his mind. The only part left of him that was penetrable.

"It's natural."

Her voice echoed through his dreams like a thousand little bells chiming in the wind. A cool, light breath tickled his ear as the sound carried him from his sleeping state. He fluttered his eyes open to find the crazy girl standing before him and immediately jumped back into the air. "Ruttin' hell, girl! What'd I tell ya 'bout sneakin' up on me?"

River cocked her head to the side and smiled, before imitating Jayne's deep, growly voice. "Gorramit! One of this days, moon brain, I'm gonna teach ya a lesson 'bout sneakin' up on folk, an' it ain't gonna be pretty." River returned to her normal sweet pitch and observed plainly. "But you won't. Idle threats are a common occurrence with you."

That was all kinds of unsettling, Jayne thought before trying to legitimize his promise. He narrowed his eyes on her for effect before he grumbled out, "Yeah, well, ya just keep on testin' me."

"Trial and error." River nodded in confirmation.

Jayne just stared blankly at her. It continuously baffled him how the girl never seemed to be intimidated. The nastier he got, the more it seemed to encourage her. Damn girl was more twisted by the minute.

"You're a hero and I'm no longer broken." River declared as she held her palms out to him. "See, no blue."

"What, now?" Jayne rolled his eyes, he was too tired to try and figure out what the hell the girl was meaning.

"You did the right thing, Jayne." The smile she gave him was one he didn't often get. Truth told, only she ever looked at him like that. "Flying free, now. I'm an albatross."

"Yeah, alright, yer a ruttin' bird and I'm a big damn hero. Now skedaddle." He leaned back and tried to get comfortable again. Feigning indifference, he closed his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep.

River sat carefully on the edge of Jayne's chair and leaned along side of him, causing him to peek open first one guarded eye and then both in surprise as she laid her head on his shoulder. "You saw what I can do and you're terrified of me." River lifted her head and looked at Jayne with her large brown eyes, her face full of sympathy and understanding.

"No I ain't." Jayne protested weakly as he leaned away from her as much as he could. He thought about getting up and bolting, but that would be the same as admitting defeat.

"It's ok. I was scared of me too." River whispered, her eyes lost for a moment before she turned and refocused them on Jayne. The joyful look on her face returning. "How was your slumber?"

"Alright, I guess." Jayne answered uneasily. He was wondering what the damn girl wanted already and wished she'd hurry up and leave him be.

"You were dreaming of me." River announced conclusively. "Still slightly deranged, but not cracked. You're scared because those are your best dreams, and when you wake, it no longer seems natural to think of me in that way."

Jayne's mouth fell open in shock and then his jaw clenched tight in anger.

Quickly, she interrupted his thoughts of embarrassed rage. "It's not what you think. I didn't go looking. When you dream, I dream. They're pleasant, so I live there."

Jayne suddenly felt all hot and uncomfortable, the sweat pooling along his lower back as he started to panic. He gripped the sides out the chair readying himself to get up and bolt when she slid off the arm of the chair and right onto his lap.

He froze as her soft behind settled onto him, her left arm snaking around his back as she rested her head onto his chest. It felt foreign but at the same time strangely pleasant.

River traced the image of the nudie girl on the front of his shirt as she spoke serenely. "This doesn't hurt." She squeezed him tighter as if he were some gorram stuffed bear, and hummed contentedly against his chest.

Maybe if he sat still long enough she'd just give up and leave. He looked down at her, his eyes raking over the top of her head, following the flow of her long, dark hair to one smooth white shoulder. It was bare and taunting him from where her large sweater had fallen and he swallowed thickly as he thought about the rest of the skin waiting just beyond.

"It's ok to touch me. I won't break." She whispered.

His heart was pounding something fierce. Was this one of those tests? "Don't right think it is, girl." he ground out, fighting the swirl of confusing thoughts and intimate images flashing through his head.

River leaned her head back, looking deep into the crystalline blue of his eyes, her gaze unwavering. "You don't need anyone's permission but mine." She reached up and traced her slender fingers along the side of his face, tickling his stubble, turning him to mush under her touch. "I'm not going to convince you of what you already crave. Skip the dance of propriety. Save it for Simon and Inara where it's apt. I want Jayne to be Jayne."

Jayne was quiet for a moment before he spoke. The softer tone in his voice attested that he'd given up the inner struggle. "How long have ya known?"

River smiled shyly. "Your dreams have grown louder, deafening. Felt like eternity, waiting for you to wake up."


End file.
